Assassin’s Creed was one of Geek.com’s favorite video games last year. The title’s outstanding visuals and open world design were a great match, and the Xbox 360 excelled at delivering an unforgettable experience. But would the shrunken prequel to that great game be able to live up to its bigger brother’s model or would it just live in its shadow? Read on to find out.

One of the most difficult aspects of translating an open world to the Nintendo DS is the limitations of the device itself. It’s not exactly a tiny version of Assassin’s Creed, therefore; and those expecting a wide open experience will be somewhat disappointed.

Altair’s Chronicles is a 3D action platformer that puts you in some of the same exact places you visited in the first game, but instead of having the world to explore, you are guided around by a giant green arrow. It’s somewhat helpful to be guided through this world, but since you know exactly where you must go, it can be extremely frustrating when you fall off a ledge. Sadly, that seemed to happen to me far more than I’d like to admit. When you drop, not only do you lose in-game health, and real-life self-respect, but also you’re likely to stir up the enemies.

One thing I never understood about the console version of Assassin’s Creed was that the difference between being seen and not seen was holding onto a button. It is one of those suspension of disbelief things, I suppose; however, it becomes even more apparent since it remains true in the handheld version. So, when you drop down, you give away your position (button not held down, of course), and the bad guys come after you.

Combat hasn’t really improved, but its flaws are less glaring in this version. I was actually pleasantly surprised with how well I fought, considering that was one of the few weaknesses in the first version.

The game has a solid control scheme, but it could be improved. Most of the movement happens in the d-Pad, but you still will have to keep the stylus in your hand, for many moves. It was slightly awkward gripping the stylus with a few fingers while I used the d-Pad to control movement–especially when I needed to hang onto a ledge and then needed fingers at the very top of the DS. I did get used to this after only a few minutes, but my hands genuinely needed a break after the experience.

As text comes up, you use the stylus on the touchpad to accept it. That’s the only real mundane use of it, though. Interrogations and pickpocketing present some of the most interesting uses of the stylus to date. As pressure points pop up on the target’s back, you are supposed to time it and hit them correctly. If you succeed, you get a green check; fail, and you get a red X. Get enough of them correct to win, and you’ll get the whole story. Pickpocketing, meanwhile, reminds me of the tabletop game “Operation,” in that you must trace the object out of the pocket without disrupting anything inside (kind of like, “don’t touch the sides!”).

The story is longer than most DS titles, but it’s still clearly a handheld experience. If you play it for a few minutes on the train every day, then you will get your money’s worth. But if you just start playing, you could beat it in a sitting or two.

All told, Assassin’s Creed: Altair’s Chronicles is a solid, if unspectacular return to the late 12th century. Fans of the original game will enjoy it if they temper their expectations. If you haven’t played the Xbox 360 version, then you should probably do just that, before you even consider playing this prequel.